Lyn Dowling

For FLORIDA TODAY

Old Florida Grill & Oyster House

Three stars ★★★Address: 5370 N. U.S. 1, Port St. John Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays Info: Call 321-735-8979 or visit oldfloridagrill.com. Other: Live music; daily specials; fishing tournaments based at the restaurant; special events; full liquor bars ABOUT REVIEWS Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice. ★ Not recommended. Don’t bother. Fair. While there’s nothing special about this establishment, it will do in a pinch. Good. A reasonably good place with food and service that satisfy. Very good. Worth going out of your way for. Food, atmosphere, service routinely top notch. Excellent. A rare establishment to which you’d be proud to take the most discerning diners. Reviewer’s visits are unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.

The mahi, set atop po-boy-style bread, is a substantial sandwich, with fresh fish and a slight scent of herbs. / LYN DOWLING/FOR FLORIDA TODAY

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Sometimes, you want to dine at a stylish, gleaming new restaurant with the latest trends in food and wine. Other times, you just want something kicked-back and congenial.

Such a restaurant is the Old Florida Grill and Oyster House on U.S. 1 near Port St. John, a place you might miss should you pass too quickly. It is surprisingly spacious, with indoor and outdoor dining, multiple bars and a fine waterfront view that makes you wonder why you never watched a night launch there.

It is rustic rather than fancy, with rough wood paneling and tables, stone work around the bar and commercial, Tiffany-style lamps over the booths. This is not a lounge. Kids are welcome and plentiful.

Service not only is prompt, but some of the best you’ll encounter in a restaurant of its type, with servers unafraid to steer you toward a better choice or away from a lesser one, and constant attention. For what it’s worth, the clientele is a friendly lot, too, with lots of bikers of the best sort on Sunday afternoons.

Not surprisingly, the menu concentrates on seafood, with everything from fish sandwiches to Maine lobster dinners (market price). Seafood comes on salads and in baskets or as entrees, and the self-described specialty of the place is Pasta Lobsta ($11.99), which contains blackened, grilled or jerked scallops or shrimp with lobster bisque, served over pasta.

Beef and chicken are available: A 9-ounce, prime cut New York strip steak dinner is $13.99, and a basket of hand-breaded chicken tenders is $7.59. This is not an expensive restaurant.

On this day, gumbo ($6.99 a bowl) was on the menu, and it was a fine version of the Louisiana favorite, with generous chunks of sausage, lots of fresh okra and chicken. The cook got the spices right, too: This gumbo won’t sear your mouth but won’t let you forget this is supposed to be savory. It could have used a bit more rice, but that’s a quibble, because this is one of the area’s better gumbos.

Sundays also mean oysters at Old Florida Grill (market price), and the customers consumed them by the dozen, with relish and cause. They were big, fresh, flavorful, no-sand mollusks available raw or steamed. The oysters alone are worth the trip.

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Having been massively disappointed by the fish sandwiches served at a certain other local seafood specialist, it was time for some comparison shopping, and Old Florida won the challenge.

The mahi ($10.59) is cut rather thinly, in this case grilled (it’s available in a variety of ways) and set atop po-boy-style bread with slices of tomato and onion and lettuce. This is a substantial sandwich with fresh fish, cooked nicely, with a slight scent of herbs.

The only complaint was the bread came apart under the weight of the onion and tomato, but otherwise, it was delicious. The coleslaw also was very good, clearly homemade and not watery or oily.

It all worked out to a fine way to spend a weekend afternoon, and one would imagine that for party-minded people it would be especially welcome, as the place has multiple bars and room to stretch out.

Truthfully, the latest experience was so much better than previous visits to Old Florida because a far higher level of care with customers was evident. The day of the unhappy server seems to be done. Hopefully, things stay that way, because this was a thoroughly pleasant experience.